Brooklyn pension worker pleads guilty to stealing $624K from NYC retirees, DA says

By Charles Lane

A Brooklyn man who worked for the city's pension system has admitted to stealing $624,000 from two retired New York City employees, officials said Wednesday.

Gregory Mathieu, 41, of Canarsie, pleaded guilty to corrupting the government in the first degree in exchange for a promised sentence of one to three years in prison, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. He will also owe restitution of $511,115, on top of about $113,000 the city has already recovered.

Mathieu was employed by the New York City Employees’ Retirement System for approximately 15 years, most recently as an associate retirement benefits examiner, officials said. Prosecutors said that from February 2021 through January 2024, he redirected pension payments into his own accounts.

One victim was a deceased Department of Sanitation supervisor, authorities said. Mathieu reactivated the person’s suspended pension payments, stealing around $242,000 in retroactive funds and monthly payments of approximately $5,700 through early 2024, according to officials.

He also took roughly $199,000 from a 75-year-old retired MTA employee, according to investigators.

Mathieu spent the stolen money on luxury goods and travel — including $2,500 on Louis Vuitton sneakers and a shirt, $1,500 on Chanel sneakers and $19,000 for a vacation — and made about $429,000 in cash withdrawals, prosecutors said.

Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber said Mathieu "used his employment with the New York City Employees' Retirement System to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from city retirees and the city's pension system."

Mathieu agreed to resign from NYCERS effective May 30. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17.

His attorney declined to comment.

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Brooklyn pension worker pleads guilty to stealing $624K from NYC retirees, DA says